Six Canadians Killed In Burkina Faso Attack: Trudeau

OTTAWA — Six Canadians died in an attack on a luxury hotel in Burkina Faso, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Saturday as the Quebec government confirmed all six were from the province.

Four jihadist attackers linked to al-Qaida were killed by Burkina Faso and French security forces hours after they stormed the Splendid Hotel and nearby Cappuccino Cafe, establishments popular with westerners in the West African country's capital of Ouagadougou. At least 28 died in the attacks, from 18 different countries.

Burkina Faso troops oversee the evacuation of bodies outside the Splendid hotel and the Cappuccino restaurant following a jihadist attack in Ouagadougou on Jan. 16, 2016. (ISSOUF SANOGO/AFP/Getty Images)

Trudeau issued a statement strongly condemning the attack that began late Friday and ended Saturday.

"On behalf of all Canadians, we offer our deepest condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of all those killed and a speedy recovery to all those injured. We are deeply saddened by these senseless acts of violence on innocent civilians,'' he said.

The statement did not give any information on the identities of the Canadians. The federal government is normally prohibited from providing such information due to privacy laws. But a representative from the Department of Global Affairs was able to confirm that no employees of the Canadian government were killed.

"We are deeply saddened by these senseless acts of violence on innocent civilians.''

A spokesperson for Quebec's International Relations Minister Christine St-Pierre has confirmed the six were all from Quebec.

Three attackers were killed at the hotel and a fourth was killed when security forces cleared out a second hotel nearby. Two of the three attackers at the Splendid Hotel were identified as female, President Roch Marc Christian Kabore said on national radio.

He said at least 126 hostages were freed, in part by French forces, who arrived overnight from neighbouring Mali to aid in the rescue.

The attack was launched by the same extremists behind a similar siege at an upscale hotel in Bamako, Mali in November that left 20 dead.

Burkina Faso President Roch Marc Christian Kabore, shown here arriving in the Movement of the People of Progress party's headquarters in Ouagadougou, on December 2, 2015. (ISSOUF SANOGO/AFP/Getty Images)

An al-Qaida affiliate known as al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb claimed responsibility online as the attack was ongoing in downtown Ouagadougou at the 147-room hotel, according to the SITE Intelligence Group.

Burkina Faso, a largely Muslim country, had for years been largely spared from the violence carried out by Islamic extremist groups who were abducting foreigners for ransom in neighbouring Mali and Niger. Then last April, a Romanian national was kidnapped in an attack that was the first of its kind in the country.

Canada and Burkina Faso have had a diplomatic relationship since 1962, according to the Department of Global Affairs, adding that Canada is the country's largest foreign investor.

In addition to trading about $75 million in goods and importing another $48.5 million in the fiscal year 2013-2014, Canada provided $33 million for development assistance in Burkina Faso that same year.

"We are saddened by the loss of lives, specifically Canadians, and also all the lives that were impacted by the situation.''

Ogho Ikhalo of Plan Canada, an international development organization that has been working for decades with children in Burkina Faso, said all staff in the country were safe.

"We are saddened by the loss of lives, specifically Canadians, and also all the lives that were impacted by the situation,'' she said. "From our organization's standpoint, we want all parties in the dispute to end the conflict and to ensure that all children are safe.''

— With files from The Associated Press

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Al Qaeda 12 Years After 9/11

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Al Qaeda's longtime leader was killed in an American raid on his compound in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad on May 1, 2011. (AP Photo, File)

Ayman al-Zawahri became al-Qaeda's new leader after the death of Osama bin Laden. He is believed to be hiding in Pakistan and regularly releases propaganda videos. (AP Photo/SITE Intel Group)

Abu Yahia al-Libi was al-Qaeda's de facto no. 2 after the death of Bin Laden. He escaped a high-security U.S. prison in Bagram, Afghanistan, in 2005. Al-Libi was killed in a drone strike in Pakistan in June 2012. (AP)

Al-Wahishi was once bin Laden's aide-de-camp and now commands AQAP, an al-Qaeda affiliate in the Arabian Peninsula. (AFP/GettyImages)

Saudi Ibrahim Hassan al-Asiri is believed to be responsible for building the underwear bomb used to try to bring down a Detroit-bound jetliner on Christmas 2009, as well as the printer-cartridge bombs. It is also believed he is responsible for building many bombs used in recent attacks. (AP)

Al-Qaeda's no. 3 was killed in an American drone strike in May 2012. (Reuters TV)

Mohammed, who led the organization in Eastern Africa, was killed by the Somalian army in June 2011. (AP)

Al-Qaeda's brutal leader in Iraq was killed in a U.S. airstrike in 2006. (AP Photo/U.S. Department of State, HO)

In 2013, the Yemen-based branch of al-Qaeda said a U.S. drone strike has killed a former Guantanamo Bay prisoner who rose to become the group's No. 2 figure. The announcement, posted on militant websites, gave no date for the death of Saudi-born al-Shihri. (AP Photo/SITE Intelligence Group, File)

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-described mastermind of the attacks of 9/11, was captured in Pakistan in March 2003 and is currently being held at Guantanamo Bay. He has been charged with war crimes. (AP Photo/FBI)
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this slide misstated the date of Sheikh Mohammed's capture.

Al-Adel was Bin Laden's former security advisor. He is still on the run. (Getty Images)

Adnan El-Shukrijumah is reportedly responsible for al-Qaeda's external operations. He lived in the U.S. for more than 15 years. (FBI)

Abd al-Rahman was al-Qaeda's liaison for Iraq, Iran and Algeria until he was killed on August 22, 2011 in Pakistan. (AP Photo/National Counterterrorism Center)

Senior al-Qaeda operative, Fahd al Quso, was killed in a U.S. airstrike while riding a vehicle in the Rafdh district of the Yemeni province of Shabwa. The 37-year-old was long wanted for his role in the USS Cole bombing in 2000. (AP Photo/FBI, File)

Ramzi Binalshibh, also a 9/11 conspirator, was initially tapped to be a hijacker, but ended up providing assistance such as finding flight schools when he couldn't get a U.S. visa. He is currently detained at Guantanamo Bay and has been charged with war crimes. (AP Photo/Winfried Rothermel)

Saudi native and al-Qaeda operative, Mustafa Ahmed Adam al-Hawsawi, has been accused of helping the hijackers with money, Western clothing, traveler's checks and credit cards. He is currently in U.S. custody at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. (AP Photo)

Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, a Pakistani national, allegedly provided money to the hijackers. He is also known as Ammar al-Baluchi. He is currently detained at Guantanamo Bay and has been charged with war crimes. (AP Photo)

Walid Bin Attash, Yemeni al-Qaeda operative and alleged 9/11 conspirator, reportedly ran a training camp in Afghanistan and researched flight simulators and timetables. He is currently detained at Guantanamo Bay and has been charged with war crimes. (JANET HAMLIN/AFP/GettyImages)